3/3/19
These words crossed my mind today as I was meditating. “I
don’t have to prove anything.” A few
minutes later, I was startled enough to gasp out loud and sink down into my
cushion to hear a Buddhist teacher read very similar words that were among the
last ones the poet William Stafford wrote. We have also been studying the Zen
poetry of a wandering itinerant monk calligrahper named Ryokan. And at the same time, we are studying Koan number
23 of the Gateless Barrier called Think Neither Good Nor Evil. Buddhists seem to study a lot which could be a
run off from sitting meditation. The words, thoughts, emotions, actions etc.,
just flow out in various forms.
In brief informal discussion after the sit and class, I said “both
Stafford and Ryokan were conscientious objectors”. Stafford to WW2 and Ryokan to the temple society
of his time 1758-1831. Both would become revered poets. Without
thinking either good or evil they both knew their true selves existed and went
their way.
No comments:
Post a Comment